Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Audience Polling and the Live Presentation
"Show of hands?"
That has always been one of my favorite "live presentation" polling techniques. (Applause is also nice...)
A show of hands or applause is the ultimate in low-tech, interactive audience polling.
And yes, it can be wildly inaccurate when you consider the group dynamic -- uncertain audience members will often eyeball how other people are voting, and raise or lower their hands based on popularity instead of their own beliefs or convictions.
But consider the high tech polling approach --
Everyone in the audience has a remote polling device, like the audience in the "Love Connection" or "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". They punch in their answer to a multiple choice selection, and in a few moments, a graph pops up on screen showing the spread. No one in the audience knows who is entering what, so furtive glances to see how the rest of the audience is voting can be futile. You will get a less group-biased result with a high-tech audience polling system.
Audience polling vendors tell us that their products let presenters gauge in real-time how the audience feels or what they know. And that facilitators get to collect and analyze more objective data, more quickly and more efficiently.
So why haven't live audience polling devices haven't caught on in a major way?
The answer -- besides being much cheaper and easier to use, the low-tech polling methods are much better at generating live audience excitement and enthusiasm.
Think about a comedian presenting to a live audience. He tells a joke. Which option yields a quicker and more accurate audience reaction?
Now compare/contrast "button pushing" with the action of throwing your hands wildly in the air or clapping your hands.
Which system lets you more accurately gauge, in real-time, emotions and enthusiasm? How does each approach make you FEEL?
So before you invest a penny in a high tech remote audience polling system for your live presentations, consider your presentation goals and the needs of your audience. Generating audience excitement and enthusiasm are often key presentation goals.
And like the comedian, a salesperson or trainer can often live quite nicely with the statistical error of a group dynamic. If the goal is to get people motivated and excited about performing a desired action (say, buying or trying) -- the salesperson or trainer won't want to take the focus off that intended action! A good presenter can use the group dynamic to help win the hearts of people who are more impressed by the way the rest of the audience reacts than by their own internal reasoning.
After all, people buy or try based on emotions, not on an objective, intellectual process. Use the bias of the group dynamic to help spread excitement and enthusiasm. This can trump the dispassionate act of punching a remote device, every time. ¶ 9/12/2006 12:04:00 PM
"Show of hands?"
That has always been one of my favorite "live presentation" polling techniques. (Applause is also nice...)
A show of hands or applause is the ultimate in low-tech, interactive audience polling.
And yes, it can be wildly inaccurate when you consider the group dynamic -- uncertain audience members will often eyeball how other people are voting, and raise or lower their hands based on popularity instead of their own beliefs or convictions.
But consider the high tech polling approach --
Everyone in the audience has a remote polling device, like the audience in the "Love Connection" or "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". They punch in their answer to a multiple choice selection, and in a few moments, a graph pops up on screen showing the spread. No one in the audience knows who is entering what, so furtive glances to see how the rest of the audience is voting can be futile. You will get a less group-biased result with a high-tech audience polling system.
Audience polling vendors tell us that their products let presenters gauge in real-time how the audience feels or what they know. And that facilitators get to collect and analyze more objective data, more quickly and more efficiently.
So why haven't live audience polling devices haven't caught on in a major way?
The answer -- besides being much cheaper and easier to use, the low-tech polling methods are much better at generating live audience excitement and enthusiasm.
Think about a comedian presenting to a live audience. He tells a joke. Which option yields a quicker and more accurate audience reaction?
- High Tech Option:
For "Very Funny" press 5.
For "Somewhat Funny" press 3.
For "Not funny at all", press 1.
Survey says, "Mean Audience Reaction is 4.371." - Low Tech Option:
Loud, instantaneous, bust-a-gut laughter.
It's a little remote.
Now compare/contrast "button pushing" with the action of throwing your hands wildly in the air or clapping your hands.
Which system lets you more accurately gauge, in real-time, emotions and enthusiasm? How does each approach make you FEEL?
So before you invest a penny in a high tech remote audience polling system for your live presentations, consider your presentation goals and the needs of your audience. Generating audience excitement and enthusiasm are often key presentation goals.
And like the comedian, a salesperson or trainer can often live quite nicely with the statistical error of a group dynamic. If the goal is to get people motivated and excited about performing a desired action (say, buying or trying) -- the salesperson or trainer won't want to take the focus off that intended action! A good presenter can use the group dynamic to help win the hearts of people who are more impressed by the way the rest of the audience reacts than by their own internal reasoning.
After all, people buy or try based on emotions, not on an objective, intellectual process. Use the bias of the group dynamic to help spread excitement and enthusiasm. This can trump the dispassionate act of punching a remote device, every time. ¶ 9/12/2006 12:04:00 PM
